Too Much?
by sierra.steinbrecher
Summary: We all know Kurt was experimented on, but who says he was the only one? I do not own the series.
1. Chapter 1

Wolverine had made it to the main room of the castle. The drones on the wall had been destroyed. There wasn't anything else watching and the place didn't smell of explosives or anything. He decided he should look around, see if he could find anything.

There were tons of scientific equipment and computer consuls around the place, but they'd all been ripped out or demolished. Beaker shards and smashed test tubes littered the floor. He was about to call in and tell the Professor that there was nothing there when he heard something. Breathing. And it was coming from the back of the room.

Wolverine leapt behind one of the smashed consuls and concentrated on the sound. It wasn't fast, like before an attack or from fear. It was deep and even, very relaxed. He crept behind a wall of empty shelves, heading in the direction of the sound. As he got closer, he saw a table with what looked like a body covered in sheets on top. That was where the breathing was coming from, he was sure of it.

Despite his close proximity to the person, the breathing hadn't changed. It wasn't quickened by fear or even awareness of another person in the vicinity. Then it hit him. The person was asleep. Well, he might as well see who he was dealing with. He lowered into a crouch, snuck up on the table, and whipped the sheet off.

Underneath was the strangest girl he'd ever seen, and living where he did, that was saying something. She was covered entirely in white plate armor, except where the sections met. Blue fur peeped out between the sections. She was hooked up to an IV, probably a sedative to keep her under. But he didn't have time to think about that. There was beeping coming from somewhere. And where there was beeping, there was usually danger.

He ripped the IV out of the girl's arm, threw her over his shoulder and leapt for the exit. The explosion raced his down the hall and out the main doorway. He barely made it out in time. He lifted the girl off of his shoulder and cradled her for a moment. She didn't seem to be stirring. He wondered if she might be dead. But he'd worry about that later. Right now he had to get on the Blackbird and report to Charles. He wondered how his friend would respond to news of the girl.

He converted one of the seats in the back so that he could lay her down and still strap her in to keep her from rolling off and hurting herself. Then he went up to the front and closed the panel behind him. He dialed up Charles on the speaker.

As usual, he was full of questions. "Well, what did you find?"

"Something that looked like a lab, but it had been completely torn apart. That damage was pretty recent, though. They left so fast they left one of their lab rats behind."

That sure got his attention. "What do you mean?"

"A girl. She's still unconscious, but she looks like one of us. She's not normal, that's for sure."

"Well, bring her in and we'll see if she remembers anything. Oh, and Logan?"

"Yeah?"

"Try not to scare her too much."


	2. Chapter 2

The jet made an enormous amount of racket while they were flying. It demanded every ounce of his attention. He wasn't a natural at this like Storm or Scott, so he couldn't risk letting up to go and check on her. When he touched down inside the cave, Charles and Storm were waiting for him in the hanger. He lifted the partition and headed to where he'd strapped the girl in. What he saw threw him for a loop. The girl had completely changed her appearance. Now her skin was a pale pink and feathery wings were sprouting from not only her back, but her wrists and ankles as well. She was still unconscious, but was beginning to stir. He quickly unstrapped her and carried her princess style down to where the others were waiting.

Neither one reacted to the girl's appearance. They were used to strange looks. So was Logan, for that matter, but he'd never seen someone change their looks without serious effort, and the girl was still under the influence of the drugs. The trio and their cargo headed for the medical wing of the mansion.

Once they laid her on one of the beds in the infirmary, Charles turned to Logan. "Well? Any clue as to who or what she is?"

The big man scratched his head. "Nothing except the fact that she was in that lab. I'm thinkin' she wasn't one of the doctors."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because when I found her in there she didn't look nearly this pretty." He described what the girl had looked like. Charles's eyes widened. Like Logan, he'd never heard of someone using an ability without conscious thought. Some, of course, had physical mutations that manifested whether they wanted them too or not, like Kurt, but what Logan described was something very different.

Thinking about Kurt made him remember something about Logan's description. "You said that she had blue fur in between the plates. Did it look anything like Kurt's?"

"Hm. They did look about the same color." His expression darkened. "What are you saying?"

"I am saying that it is highly likely that the two are connected somehow. They are both strange even by mutant standards. Kurt's mutation appeared much earlier than normal, and this girl seems to have several different mutations and limited control. They both have connections to that lab."

"And that means?"

"It means that they may have both been experimented on by the same individuals." He rolled his wheelchair back to the girl's bedside. "When this girl wakes up, she could give us more information." The two settled in to wait.

It didn't take long. The girl began stirring after about half an hour, then cried out and woke with a jolt. Storm laid a calming hand on the girl's shoulder. She shrank away, trembling, and said "What do you want?"

Storm spoke softly so as not to frighten her further. "Only to help."

She didn't stop shaking. "No. Go away. I don't want it anymore!" She dove off of the bed, charged past the professor and Logan, and streaked down the hall at an alarming speed.

Charles turned around and headed the way the girl had gone. "Catch her before the others find her." Logan, Storm, and Charles all headed after her.

The girl ran all the way to the bedroom section of the mansion. She heard the others coming up behind her, turned a corner…

And smashed headlong into Evan. "Whoa, chill. What're you running from?"

"From them!" She pointed in the direction she'd come from. Evan looked around the corner and saw the Professor, Storm, and Logan coming down the hallway, opening doors and looking around.

He turned back to the girl. "You must be new here. Those three are just teachers. I admit, Logan can be scary sometimes, but he's alright, really."

She started to calm down a little, enough to think clearly. She'd been scared when she woke up and was in a place she didn't know, so she'd just assumed that wherever she was was bad and started running. Really, she didn't have any reason to think this was a bad place. They had said they wanted to help. She stopped running and let them approach her.


	3. Chapter 3

Evan had finally calmed the girl down enough to talk. Her name was subject 1.2. The lab had been for experimenting with the human genome. Charles leaned forward. "Do you know who was running this lab?"

She said "Not by name, but I can describe him for you."

"Then by all means, do."

1.2 described him as a big man, always in a cloak and helmet. She'd only seen him take it off once, and had been surprised by how old he was. Charles knew who it was pretty quickly. _Experimentation on other mutants? How far will you go before you're satisfied? _He turned back to the girl. "Do you know what type of experiment they were using you for?"

She nodded. "I think it had something to do with multiple powers. They'd inject stuff into me and the next day my hands would be on fire, or coated in scales or something. I don't remember how many times they did it but I know it was a lot."

_Looks like he was trying to find out how many powers a person could have without being damaged. There's no way to know how many he succeeded in implanting inside her. But where did he get the powers in the first place? _"Did you ever see how he got the injections?"

"They always came out of the same room, in test tubes. He would pour them into a needle and inject it into one of my elbows." She pushed up one of the sleeves of the shirt they'd given her and showed them the dozens of small scars in the crook of her elbow. "It hurt like crazy for a while after that, and then I always blacked out. When I woke up, something would be different about me." She giggled a little. "I even woke up floating once."

He nodded. "Thank you for sharing this with us. Storm?"

The silver-haired woman answered "Yes, professor?"

"Help her to one of the available bedrooms. You and some of the other girls can take her shopping tomorrow."

Storm helped the girl up off the couch and towards the door. Once they were gone, Charles turned towards Logan. "What do you think? Is she stable enough to stay with us?"

The big man shrugged. "I don't think she's gonna be a problem, but I'll keep an eye on her all the same." He exited the study.

Storm opened the door to one of the bedrooms. "This is going to be your room."

The girl walked around starry-eyed. Storm had rarely seen someone so happy. She ran her hands over the bedcovers and flung open the doors to the balcony. "It's beautiful. Is it really for me?" She asked.

Storm answered with a laugh. "Well, you could room with one of the other students if you liked."

The girl turned from looking at the drapes and asked. "Like that boy I met in the hallway?"

Obviously, she was talking about Evan. Storm was about to reply that, yes, they were like that boy when Kitty barged into the room with the boy in tow. She stopped when she saw the feathered girl. "Whoa. You weren't kidding."

Evan pulled his hand away from her. "Of course I wasn't. Why would I joke about something like this?"

Kitty ignored him. She went up to the other girl and said "Hi. I'm Kitty, and he's Evan. What's your name?"

The girl retreated onto the balcony. "1.2."

"Eww." Kitty made a face. "What kind of a name is that? We'll have to come up with a different one for you. How about Thalia?" It was a name she'd picked up from one of her books.

1.2 liked it. It was so much prettier than the numbers. "Okay."

Storm shook her head in astonishment. This was the fastest introduction any of their students had ever had into the school, and already 1.2 was making friends. No, she was Thalia now. Storm left the new girl in Kitty's capable hands and Evan's confidant ones to go tell the professor about this latest development.


	4. Chapter 4

Kitty stared at her for a second, taking in the wings and pink skin. "So I guess you can fly. Cool! We don't have anyone here who can do that yet, except Jean, but that's due to her telekinesis. But what's with the pink skin?"

"Sorry." Thalia stammered. She wasn't used to people asking her questions about herself like this.

Kitty laughed. "Don't apologize! It looks great! I was just wondering if it was armor or something, or if it helped you fly better."

"No, it's… Oh no." She had started morphing. The wings melted back into her wrists, ankles and back, and the skin faded from its pastel pink to a more average pale peach color. Her hair turned a chestnut brown and lengthened until it was a good two feet long. Now she looked pretty, but pretty ordinary. "Sorry. It's not really something I can control. It just happens sometimes."

Kitty and Evan were both gaping. Did this girl have multiple powers? First she had wings and now she was morphing like Mystique. They simultaneously shouted, "Cool!" and ran to get a closer look.

After that they quizzed her about her powers and found out quite a lot. Thalia could fly, morph, read minds, grow plate armor, and levitate without using her wings. But all of these abilities only activated subconsciously, which meant she had little or no control over them.

When she started telling them about her blackouts, the professor came in. He looked at the three in the center and asked, "Is Thalia in here with you?"

She answered that she was right there. He started for a second but quickly hid his surprise. "Wolverine told me that you can't control your morphing, so I have something for you." He held up a watch identical to the one he'd given Kurt when he'd first arrived. "Why don't I get Kurt to show you how it works?"

Then Scott burst into the room waving a sheet of paper. "Kurt's gone. He went to that construction site to meet with someone." He handed the sheet to the professor. "I think we should go after him."

The professor nodded. "Yes, you should. And take Thalia with you." He looked back at the girl. "It will be good for her to see how we work together. Get going."

Evan, Scott, and Kitty ran out of the room, with Thalia in tow.


	5. Chapter 5

The four of them met up with Jean and Rogue in the hanger. While the others suited up, Jeane found a spare suit for the girl. "Sorry it's so big on you."

"No, it's fine," replied the girl. "I'm actually glad it's a little roomy. It won't rip if I morph into something bigger."

The area where Kurt was meeting someone was downtown, so there was no need to use the jet. They piled into the X-mobile instead. Jean helped Thalia get settled in the back between Kitty and Evan and took a seat up front with Scott. Once they'd started driving, Jean looked over her seat back and made eye contact with Thalia. "This is going to be your first fight so I want you to stay back. Either get behind someone or run clear." She smiled at the confused girl. "We don't want you getting hurt on your first day here, right?" The younger girl nodded. Jean turned back to the front.

They reached the site and scrambled out of the van, headed for where Kurt was getting knocked around by those Brotherhood guys. They'd just knocked him down from one of the cranes when the six of them arrived. Toad leaned over the guy and said "Whoa. That was easy."

Scott replied with a shout. "Wrong. It just got hard." Jean pushed Thalia behind her, and the fight commenced.

Thalia watched as each of them faced off with one of the others. She was about to laugh at the spinning fat guy when Jean grabbed her hand. "Come on, we've got to help Kurt." They walked towards the fallen boy. Jean put two of her fingers to her temples, and Kurt started levitating. Thalia's eyes widened. _He can do that too? No, it must be her doing it. _Jean pulled her out of it by yelling. "Help him stand. I can't hold on very long." Thalia quickly pulled one of his arms over her shoulder and grabbed his waist. "Good. Now get him walking towards the van." She did, but then she heard a scream.

Someone, a woman, was pointing at Thalia and screaming, "No! It's not possible!" _What is she talking about? _thought Thalia. _Did I start morphing again? _But she didn't have time to think about it. One of the other guys was causing earthquakes!

Jean yelled at her to get Kurt to safety. She gripped Kurt tighter and started walking towards the van as fast as she could. Thalia laid him down in the backseat and turned to go back to the fight. But the fight was over. The others were coming back now, but when they saw her they halted.

It was a good thing her uniform hadn't included gloves, because her fingers had melded together until there were only two. And it was a good guess that her toes had done the same thing. She was covered in Kurt's blue fur and had his black hair. They were mirror images of each other.

Later, the professor and Logan got together with Jean and Scott to tell them what had been going on, and what they'd found out about Kurt.

After the professor finished his explanation about the repressed memories, Logan said "So the dreams Rogue was having were really Mystique's."

"I'm afraid so," The professor said from his wheelchair. "Rogue must have picked them up when she touched her. Mystique may very well be the boy's mother. But we may never know the truth now. Was there anything in that lab besides Thalia?"

"Nothing. Magneto didn't want us finding anything. He must have thought Thalia was dead or something, to just leave her there for us to find. She was able to tell us everything." Then Logan eyed Charles. "If he was testing how many powers someone could have with her, what do you think he was doing to Kurt?"

"Well, most mutations only become active once a person reaches their teens. That's the way it was for all of us here. But Kurt's mutations showed themselves while he was still an infant. This is just my hypothesis, but I think Magneto was testing how to trigger the gene, and he was using Kurt to find out."

Scott leaned forward. "So when are you gonna tell Kurt about this? I mean, if he starts talking with Thalia, some of it might get out, but we don't know if she knew about him. Should we just tell him so he doesn't get confused?"

Logan got up and started walking towards the bookshelf. "I don't think that she'll say much. I'm guessing that that wasn't something she'd want to talk about in a hurry. Those things aren't fun. And the elf doesn't need to know, at least not yet. That stuff about screwin' with his genes couldn't be good news."

Kurt was standing on the balcony of his room talking with Rogue. "I…I still can't believe it. Mystique is my mozer?"

Rogue looked up at him. He looked so lost. "Listen Kurt. Who really knows? I mean that's one seriously disturbed lady. Maybe she's just messing with you."

He looked down at her. "I guess. But zere is a certain rezemblance."

Someone said "Hi." Both of them looked towards the doorway. Thalia was standing there, still blue and pointy-eared. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright. You didn't wake up the whole ride back."

Kurt hopped off the balcony rail and walked towards the girl, taking in everything about her. "I'm vine. zanks for helping save me."

Thalia smiled. "You're welcome." She dug into her pocket and pulled out an image inducer. "The professor said to ask you to teach me how to use this. I have to take some tests at the school tomorrow to determine what grade I'll be in."

Rogue watched as Kurt showed her the different dials. _Looks like he won't be brooding for a while. _She snuck out of the room and left the two to their watches.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry this took so long, I was finishing Misa.**

One week into her life at the institute and already Thalia was busier than any other student in the place. She attended Bayville High and mandatory power control classes with everyone else, but was also given extra homework in multiple power control. On top of that, the professor was running numerous experiments on her, with her permission of course. She wanted to find out the extent of what'd been done to her as much as he did.

The packed days had done a lot for her. The professor was of the mind that she should master her powers one at a time, with morphing as the first. It took hours of concentration, three sessions a day with him inside her head, and so many bizarre transformations she'd begun to look like an alien. But she could already maintain a normal appearance for almost five hours, although bringing out other physical powers like wings was still beyond conscious thought. They'd also managed to get a handle on her other more prevalent powers, so that if she maintained a constant level of concentration, she could keep them from surfacing. It was a simple matter of envisioning them inside a box separate from the rest of her mind.

The experiments were going somewhere too. Xavier had managed to uncover the means by which Magento had created the various serums he'd injected into the girl. It looked like he'd been able to isolate the X-gene and tweak it in slightly different ways. To find out what each adjustment produced, he had injected the modified gene into Thalia and monitored her to check for a new ability or mutation. Magneto had been switching the X-channels, and she was his screen.

Aside from lessons in control and blood tests, Thalia's life had taken a surprisingly normal turn. She was a freshman at school, but was catching up with the coursework quickly, thanks to tutoring from Scott, Jean, and sometimes Storm or Logan. Logan loved teaching P.E. And her social life at school was going better than she could have hoped for.

Thalia hadn't picked her looks with guys in mind, but with long brown hair, finely shaped hands, and a short but slender figure it was hard not to stare. And one boy in particular couldn't keep his eyes to himself. Luke, one of the violinists for the orchestra, had been making puppy dog eyes at her since her first day there.

The Friday after her first full week, he made his move. Thalia opened her locker to get her books out for music class, and found a note tucked between her history textbook and sheet music. It read,

"Please come to the flagpole after class. I want to talk to you. Luke."

Okay. Thalia might have spent most of her life in a lab, but she'd heard Kitty and Jean teasing each other enough to know that this wasn't someone asking to borrow notes. And she'd be kidding herself if she admitted that she wasn't at least a little attracted to the guy. His playing was beautiful, and he may not be much to look at but Luke was extremely sweet. She ran off to music class humming with excitement.

That was a mistake. Thoughts about Luke distracted her from both her lesson and something else. Something crucial. She was in the middle of class, thinking about Luke's smile, when her powers started breaking loose.


	7. Chapter 7

The first thing to go crazy was her morphing, since it was the one that required the most concentration. Her long brown hair started going moss green and growing until it reached her knees. Membranes began to develop between her arms and her sides, like a parachute. Singing turned to screeching. And if that wasn't noticeable enough, her telekinesis escaped the box in her mind. She started levitating.

Three feet above the chair, Thalia surrounded herself with a mini tornado of sheet music, erasers, and even a couple of lighter instruments. Nothing heavy was flying, since she was trying to tame the power before it started hurting someone, although it didn't seem to be working. Chairs were starting to get whipped up too. She closed her eyes and opened the box she and the professor had built inside her mind, working to shove the unruly telekinesis back in.

That was a mistake. As soon as she opened the box, the rest of her known powers and a few new ones starting wreaking havoc on the music classroom. She was morphing faster than ever, going from her plate armor to scales, to slime, and then through different skin colors, each with its own power contributing to the madness created by her telekinesis. Metallic blue made the tin wastebasket and metal drums go crazy. Pink skin got punctured by stray objects and healed before Thaila had a chance to blink. She even turned coal red and started heating up the air around her.

Students fled the room in a panic. They ran down the halls shouting at the top of their lungs, saying there was a crazy girl in the music room. When they ran past Scott's classroom, he heard. He had a pretty good idea of what had happened. He ran for the music room with Jean. When they got there, the situation was getting crazy. Kitty, who'd been in the class with her, was trying to get close but without much luck. If not for the phasing, she probably would have been badly hurt already. Kurt was also in the room, hiding behind one of the desks that were still grounded. Scott yelled to him, "Go to the mansion and get Logan and the professor. We need help!"

Rogue came up behind them. "What's going on?"

Scott pushed her away from the door as a recorder went flying. "Thalia's gone out of control. We need to contain her, now! Kitty!"

The girl yelled back, "Yeah?" but didn't turn around. She had to keep phasing to avoid getting hurt.

"Get over here!" Kitty made her way through the door, which Scott slammed shut. "Jean, keep this closed until the Professor gets here."

Jean concentrated on the door and locked it from the inside. Thalia wouldn't get out unless she broke down the door, which was getting more likely by the second. Kurt chose that moment to burst in with Logan and Charles. He immediately rolled the wheelchair up to Scott and asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's Thalia. She just lost control, starting going crazy."

"Yeah. There's like, sixteen different powers going crazy in there. It's freaky." Kitty shivered. She'd been through a lot of battles but this was something else.

Charles turned to Logan and Kurt. "Kurt, I need you to get Logan inside there. Logan, you'll need to restrain her somehow, maybe knock her out. We need to shut her down."

Logan nodded and grabbed Kurt's shoulder again. "Come on, elf. Let's go." They evaporated in a puff of smoke.

As soon as they popped into place on the other side, they knew this wasn't going to be easy. Thalia was covered in electric blue leather, and crackling with electricity. They ducked behind the wooden teacher's desk as a stray bolt blackened the floor where they'd just been standing. The big man turned to Kurt. "You go back to the others and tell Jean to unlock the door. Open it when I shout."

Kurt popped out of the room and Logan grabbed a stray chair leg from the floor. The end was scorched where Thalia had unknowingly burnt it off of the chair. It would do. Logan burst into a quick sprint, covering the distance between them quickly, but not quickly enough. The mouthpiece of a recorder drew a neat line along his cheek, which started healing. But it still hurt. He took more grazes as he got closer, but he noticed that anything that could have really hurt him, like broken glass, wasn't coming too close. Looks like she did have at least a little control. As he wrapped himself around her and prepared to knock her out with the chair leg, he got a look at her face. She was terrified. "Help," she mouthed.

He smiled, more gently than usual. "Don't worry. This'll be over soon." And he whacked her over the head with the chair leg. She fell limp in his arms, the crackling electricity gone. He winced as the pain from the electrical burns kicked in but it lessened as his regeneration began working on them. He threw Thalia over his shoulder and shouted to the others. "It's alright. She's out." The door opened.

Charles rolled in and took a good look at the room. What a mess. Instruments, music, pieces of furniture, and even broken glass from the windows littered the floor. Cleaning this up was going to take a lot of work, in more ways than one.


	8. Chapter 8

Thalia's slipup caused more of an uproar than any other mutant-related event, probably because it had been stranger than most and involved an entire classroom full of kids. The institute had to pay for the damage, create a believable cover story, and memory wipe the kids who had seen things a little too clearly. But it was impossible to catch everyone, and it wasn't long before rumors started flying. Luckily, Thalia wasn't around to deal with the speculations about just what kind of freak she was. But that was where her luck ended.

Her conscious mind hadn't had anything to do with the different abilities that had erupted from her. Unfortunately, that had given her plenty of brain power to realize what was happening, what she was making happen. As a result, she had locked herself in her room and refused to come out.

Both Logan and the professor were worried about her. Charles kept agonizing about the situation. They wouldn't be able to cover up something like that a second time. Could she even be let off the grounds without breaking? Was there some artificial way to keep her from snapping? Would this tip people off to their existence? That was already tough enough to hide.

Logan was worried more about the girl herself. He couldn't get that look she'd had out of his head. She hadn't just been terrified. Thalia had been terrified of herself. It reminded him all too well of how he'd first felt when he'd discovered his claws. He'd unleashed them in a moment of anger and wound up killing a man. He'd been so scared of what he'd done that he'd run off into the woods in the middle of winter, and would have died if his brother hadn't followed him. That was what Thalia needed right now. She needed someone who could show her that she wasn't alone in this. And there was only one person for that job. Logan went to find Kurt.

The elf was playing a video game with Evan when the big man found him. "Hey Evan. I'm gonna borrow this." He picked Blue Boy up, slung him over his shoulder, and carried him over to the front of Thalia's room.

He set the boy down and Kurt immediately straightened his shirt. "Vat vas that for?"

He pointed at the door with his chin. "I just thought maybe you could help Thalia. You know, show her she doesn't have to be by herself right now. Besides, you're the only one who can get in there besides Kitty, and she's at drama club."

Kurt stopped dusting off his clothes and looked toward the door. To tell the truth, he'd been worried about her too. Everyone had seen who she really was, and now she felt like a freak. It was something he knew only too well. "I'll try. Maybe sche'll come down to dinner vis me later."


	9. Chapter 9

**Please review! Anything, even flames, are welcome. And what does AU mean?**

Kurt exploded into the room only to find it empty. Thalia wasn't in her bed, by the dresser, or out on the balcony. Then he heard a rustling sound. It was coming from the closet. He opened up the shutter doors to find her curled up on the floor her with hands over her ears and eyes. Her hair looked like it hadn't been combed for days, and the tank top she was wearing didn't smell that good. Kurt's face scrunched up in sympathy. _She's still so scared of herself. _He gently laid his hand on her exposed shoulder to let her know he was there.

She flinched in response and curled in tighter. "Go away. I don't…I don't want to hurt you." Tears squeezed out of her eyes.

He laughed a little. "You von't hurt me, I promise. Iv you start going crazy again, I'll just get out." He shrugged. "It's no big deal. I've dealt vith vorse before; like zat time zat Professor Logan vent crazy on me and Kitty. Now that was scary."

She unclenched a little from her fetal position, although she wouldn't leave the enclosed closet space. "What do you mean? I don't remember him going crazy."

Kurt went over to sit on the bed. "Oh, you veren't zere. It vas just me and Kitty. Man, ve sure had our hands vull trying not to die."

"Could you tell me about it?"

"Sure. Now zat I zink about it, it vas pretty vunny."

An hour later, Storm made the rounds calling everyone to dinner. When she walked towards Thalia's room, hoping to coax the girl out of it, she saw Kurt come out, grinning at someone inside. He closed the door behind him. Storm ran up to Kurt. "Well, how is she?"

"I vound her hiding in ze closet. She's still vrightened, but I zink telling her ze story about how Provessor Logan vent crazy helped a little. At least now she knows zat she's not ze only one zis has happened too."

Inside the bedroom, Thalia had come out of the closet and was standing in front of the mirror. She was a little ashamed of how she'd been acting. Of course she wasn't the only one with control problems. Heck, Scott couldn't even take his glasses off without blowing something to bits. Yet they still managed to deal with it. She could too.

She starred at her reflection. It was storm grey, dotted with flecks of white. Maybe if she concentrated, she could change back to her school look. She envisioned the mirror, like the Professor had taught her. She imagined her current appearance onto the mirror. Once she stopped to look at it, it was actually a very pretty look. Then she imagined a different form, the one she used for school. This form had longer hair, normal skin, and wasn't so tall. She finished the imagined transformation and opened her eyes to look at her actual reflection. All she did was make her hair grow another two inches.

Come on! Before her breakdown, she'd been able to change her skin at least. Then it started snowing over her head. Thalia freaked. She dove back into her closet, covered her head with her arms, and said over and over, "I'm normal. I am NOT making it snow. I am normal." It did no good. She was buried in an hour, except the area around her eyes. Tears of frustration and fear kept that spot clear.


	10. Chapter 10

**You can thank** **Gift of the Dragons for Kurt's accent. Kurt did originally have a German accent, so I just needed to learn how to put zat into writink. Please Review!**

Kurt set down his fork with a clatter. "Vell I'm going to take Zalia some dinner. Zee you guys later." He grabbed a plate from the kitchen, shoveled some spaghetti onto it, and walked up the stairs and down the hall to Thalia's room. He teleported into her bedroom and immediately started shivering. Why on earth was it so cold in here? He rubbed his arms with his hands as he looked around the room for her. _Looks like she's still in the closet. _He opened the door.

Ice. Everything inside was encased in a giant pink ice cube, including Thalia. She was curled up again, just like he'd left her. But she was also blue, and Kurt didn't think it was just a skin color this time. He ran to get the professor.

They all took the block out onto the lawn so Scott could work away at it with his optic blasts without worrying about hitting the floor. He had to be very careful not to hit Thalia, but she needed to get out of there fast and regular defrosting just wasn't going to cut it. Once he'd managed to get most of it off, Logan picked her up and carried her to the infirmary wing. There, they gave her an IV drip to keep her sedated and kept her warm with blankets and heating pads. Charles watched as the blue receded from her skin. But her normal color wasn't coming back. Why?

He turned to look at Kurt. The boy hadn't left Thalia's side once through this whole ordeal. He suspected there might be some teasing after this. But he had more urgent matters to think about right now. Why was she so pale. "Kurt," TH boy jumped at his name. "Was there anything else when you found her?"

The boy thought for a moment. "Vell, ze ice around her nose vas really red. Maybe she had a nosebleed vhile she vas vrozen?"

The professor considered the idea. The cold would have made her more susceptible to nosebleeds, but without some sort of trigger she wouldn't have gotten one. Perhaps… He took a closer look at her face. Yes, there they were! Tear tracks! She'd been crying, probably blowing her nose too. And that certainly could have caused a nosebleed. And she couldn't have stopped the bleeding without coming out of the closet to ask for help, so she'd bled until she froze. If not for Kurt, she would have died. "Kurt, go and get everyone." The boy popped out.

The professor mulled the problem over in his head. Thalia needed blood, and fast. If she'd been able to turn on her regenerative ability, they wouldn't have to worry about something like this. But she couldn't not without going on a rampage again. So he'd have to find a donor. But it wasn't going to be as simple as matching blood types. They'd have to get as close a match as possible, because of the tampering that had been done on her cells. He'd probably have to take a sample from everyone in the mansion and look for the closest match with the samples he'd taken from Thalia during their many experiments.

Once Evan and the others had arrived, Charles explained the situation to them. Storm took a small sample from each of them and compared them with Thalia's under a microscope. Scott's sample was useless. Except for the X-marker that produced the optic blasts, there was nothing the two had in common. It was the same for Kitty and Evan. Jean's blood shared a few traits, like small little fingers, but that was it. Logan's sample included a gene for black hair and attached ear lobes, so it was the closest yet. They would probably go with Logan's if they had too. Then she picked up Kurt's sample. She looked up from the powerful microscope and said, "You might want to look at this professor." He wheeled over and adjusted the eyepieces.

He nodded. "I think we have a good match. Storm, start the transfusion." Storm had Kurt sit down and got out the needles to link the two. While she was conducting the transfusion, Charles kept his eyes glued to the lenses. How was this possible? How could there be such a close match?

Except for where there had been obvious tampering, probably from the experiments, and the gene determining sex, the two blood samples were nearly identical. It was almost like they were… No, that was not possible. But hadn't they been used at lab rats at the same place, by the same person? It would have been hard to get ahold of two mutant children, let alone one. Mystique had supplied Kurt, however unwillingly. She might have been the source of both his guinea pigs. And Kurt was the only one who was able to get through to her after the incident with the music room. Maybe this was the reason. He decided to run some more tests, just to be sure.

Thalia was kept unconscious through drugs. Some of her powers still appeared, but they weren't very strong, due to the anesthesia they were giving her. The telekinesis only lifted things like the flowers at her bedside, and her floating was restricted to about three feet out of the bed. Her morphing ability seemed to have turned itself off, which was a good thing for Charles.

During the week after her freezing session, Charles ran every sort of blood test and DNA test imaginable with samples from both Thalia and Kurt. At the end of the week, and after twenty different tests, the professor called Kurt into his study.

The young mutant was visibly nervous when he entered the study. He knew something was up. All those samples and tests… had he turned out to be the wrong blood type? Was Thalia in danger because of him?

Charles was sitting in his wheelchair opposite one of the couches in the room. He smiled at the boy and said, "Please sit down Kurt. I've got something to tell you." He sat down on the couch, butterflies in his stomach. "I suppose you're wondering why I've been running all those tests on you and Thalia recently." The youth nodded. "Well it was because of something I noticed when we compared your blood the first time."

"You mean ven she needed a transvusion?"

"Yes. And we found a match. You." The professor leaned forward and stared into Kurt's yellow eyes. "Kurt, you weren't just a good match for Thalia. You were near perfect. In fact, so perfect that I thought for a second that I was looking at two samples from the same person. I began to have some suspicions about the two of you, and the tests I conducted after that confirmed those suspicions." He paused, unsure of how to break the news.

Kurt got up and walked towards the professor until they were only a few inches away from each other. "Vat vas your suspicion?"

"My suspicion, which I am almost certain of now, is that you and Thalia are siblings.


	11. Chapter 11

**Do you guys like longer chapters or more frequent updates better? Please Review and tell me whether or not you like Kurt's accent, whether or not I should bring Rogue into this yet, Or just what parts you liked. I will not post the next chapter until I have at least one more review.**

**Sadly, I own nothing except my poor lab rat.**

Kurt lurched back. "Vat? Zalia's my sister? But how? Didn't she come vrom a lab or somezing?"

The professor nodded. He thought of calling in Logan to help him explain, but decided against it. "Do you remember that time a few weeks ago when Rogue started having those dreams about you?"

"Yes. But vat does zat have to do viz anyzing?"

"A great deal." And he proceeded to tell Kurt everything, from the details of the dream to Thalia's description of what had gone on inside the castle. He even included the results of the tests his sister had undergone during the weeks at the institute. "We think that you underwent experiments too, Kurt. It's the reason your powers appeared so early in life, as opposed to your peers whose abilities developed when they entered high school."

It looked like the truth was finally beginning to sink in. Kurt said in low tones, "So Mystique really is my mozer." Then something occurred to him and he looked up at the professor. "Hold on. Iv Mystique came to get me, vhy didn't she take Zalia too?"

"I don't know Kurt. Maybe she didn't recognize her at the time. The girl changes color on a daily basis. But do you understand why I'm telling you this?" The boy shook his head. "I'm telling you so you can help your sister. I don't think the reason she's unconscious is because of the drugs. What we've been giving her wouldn't keep Logan out for more than three minutes, and she has his ability. If she wanted to, she could wake up in a heartbeat. I think the reason she's stayed like this for so long is that she's still afraid of herself. Her subconscious is registering that fear and complying with it. Normally this would be a good thing, but it's not helping Thalia at all." He started wheeling towards the door.

"Walk with me." He and the blue youth walked out of the room and as they reached the hallway, the professor started talking again. "The daily samples I've been taking from her this past week not only showed the similarities between you two. They also showed something much worse. Her cells are mutating, but not in a good way. It's much like how cancer cells develop. I think her regenerative powers have been keeping them under control, but with her subconscious turning off all her powers, that ability's control over these mutations has lessened to a dangerous level. If she were to stop rejecting her abilities like this, her regenerative powers could go to work on these non-cells and help to get them back to normal as well as speed her own healing processes. But only if she accepts what she is."

They had reached the door toThalia's room, where they'd been keeping her conatose. "I need you to help her do that, Kurt. As her brother, and as a fellow victim. Please, help her to wake up and start working with me again so we can get a handle on her abilities." With that, the professor wheeled out of the room and left Kurt with his sister.

He felt like his head was going to explode. He was even more messed up than he'd thought, thanks to those experiments. Mystique was his mother, Thalia was his sister, and she was probably going to die unless he found some way to make her accept what she was. And yesterday he'd only had the weekend plans to think about.

He pulled up a chair and sat down next to her. _Man. No wonder we got along so well. We're family. _He would have said that to her, but she probably couldn't hear him. He settled for taking her hand instead, which was lying on the covers. _I hope you wake up soon. I want to tell you everything._


	12. Chapter 12

For some reason, she was back in the music classroom, and it was very cold. Thalia had just gotten up from her seat to sing a part of the song they were learning in music class. She reached for her sheet music only to find it hovering three inches above the desk. The others around her started pointing. Someone yelled, "Freak!" Others started to join in, until the whole class was yelling at her.

She panicked and tried to shove the paper back down to the desk. But it wouldn't go down. Then the teacher came up behind her. "Get out of my class!" He took his conducting stick and jammed it up her nose, making her bleed. She turned to run out of the room when she saw Kurt standing in the doorway. He looked at her with utter disgust.

Then someone else came up behind him, someone in a long cloak and helmet. "You don't belong here. You belong with me." Then he grabbed her hand, and the cold began to lessen.

Then she was back in the castle, that horrible castle, strapped to a bed. The caped man was inserting a needle into her arm, pumping her full of awful grey syrup. It pumped and pumped until she wanted to scream, but she couldn't open her mouth. The needle never left. Dozens of different liquids pumped into her skin for what seemed like eternity. And she still couldn't scream, couldn't even squeak.

People passed by her. Kurt like he was at school. Scott without his glasses. Evan, spike free. And they all looked at her like she was a freak. Because that's what she was. She was a freak. She saw others too. Classmates, school friends, even Luke. How long had it been since he'd left her that letter? It seemed like an eternity.

Then something closed around her hand. It was a little girl. She had fur just like Kurt's, and the same eyes. She looked at the girl, then down at herself. They looked about the same. Wait. She'd just moved her head. That meant that the strap around her head was gone. She tried opening her mouth. She could. She asked the little girl, "Who are you?"

The girl smiled at her. "I'm you, but not you. I'm everything that was given to you, but that you weren't born with. I didn't like being in that box." She kept hold of Thalia's hand while she jumped up onto the bed and started swinging her legs. "It's nice to be out of that box you put me in. If I got to stay out here more, maybe I wouldn't have to fight so hard to get out all of the time."

Thalia thought about that for a second. Was this girl the manifestation of the different powers she had? She had talked about being shoved into a box. She lifted her head to look at the little girl again. "Can you help get me out of here?"

The girl nodded. "Sure. I don't like it in here either." And everything around them went black.

Thalia opened her eyes and realized that she'd been dreaming. But then who had that girl been?

"Zalia!" Kurt let go of his sister's hand and hugged her around the shoulders. "I vas so vorried!" He let go and returned to his chair next to her bed, a little embarrassed. After all, he knew he was hugging his sister, but she didn't. "How are you feeling?"

She smiled at him. The dream images of him had terrified her. She was glad to see his old, jumpy, blue self back. "Better, now that I'm awake."

"I've got to go get ze provvessor. He told me to tell him ze moment you voke up." He got up and walked to the door. "I'll be back." And he popped out. He'd have to tell her about their relationship sometime. And he couldn't wait.

Thalia rested her head back onto her pillow. She thought about the dream, but especially about the little girl she'd seen towards the end. There might be a way to get a handle on her powers after all.

**My first dream sequence! Please review and tell me how you liked it. I was going to wait until I got more comments, but this was too good not to post.**


	13. Chapter 13

When Kurt brought Professor Xavier back into the room, Thalia was standing in front of the mirror, concentrating hard. They watched as her skin changed from dappled grey to white, and finally to faint peach. Then she said to no one in particular, "Okay, now for the brown. You like brown, don't you?" And her hair darkened from its snowy white into the medium brown she wore at school.

She looked towards the door and smiled when she heard the wheels of the professor's chair coming. She sounded excited when she said, "I found it. There is a way for me to keep a handle on my powers."

He led her over to sit on the bed and wheeled around until he was right in front of her. Charles rested his elbows on the arms of his chair and let his chin rest on his folded hands. He said, "Would you like to tell me more about it?"

"I think that my powers aren't connected to my subconscious like we thought. They're connected to a different personality. I met her in my dream, and when I tried talking to her in front of the mirror, I was able to change without having to concentrate on keeping my other abilities in check. I could probably do more, like fly, but I have to talk with the other girl in my head. It's like the box we tried to create, but she controls the lid. And if I try to force her to open or close it, she resists."

"That's what happened in the music room. I'd been pressing her into a box for a long time, but I needed to concentrate really hard to keep her in that box. The minute I let up, she got out and started having fun with my powers. If I don't shove her into the box in the first place, if I let her roam free inside my mind, she doesn't resist me like that. Watch." The back of her dress got tighter as her shoulder blades developed into wing bones and feathers. "I can control it, but only if I ask nicely."

The professor couldn't have been happier. She was finally able to control her amazing gifts. And it had been so simple! But he pulled himself out of the clouds. There was still the matter of that deformed tissue to deal with. But where should he start?

Kurt sat down next to Thalia on the bed. He asked, "Does zis mean your healing povers are back too?"

She blinked a little. "Why would I need those? I'm not injured or anything, right?"

_Thank you, Kurt, _thought the professor. "Thalia, while you were unconscious, you cells…"

It took a while to explain the whole problem. Thalia was still a little confused when she said, "So are you going to take a sample of my blood and see what they look like now that I've turned my healing powers on again?"

Charles nodded. "We just need to make sure that you can fix this on your own. If not, we'll have to find some way to help you. Let's go down to the infirmary and get that finished."

As they made their way to the infirmary, Thalia leaned on Kurt for support. An IV could supply necessary nutrients, but she still hadn't eaten for a long time, so her blood sugar was very low and she didn't have much strength.

Kurt didn't mind a bit. Once they finished this, he planned to take her up to the roof and tell her about the two of them, how they were family. Oh, he could hardly wait!

When they got down to the infirmary, Storm was waiting for them with the needle. The professor had contacted her via telepathy and told her what was going on. It was a quick prick and draw, and Thalia was done. Then Kurt put his arms around her waist and teleported them up to the roof.

Thalia pushed him away as soon as they touched the roof. "What are you doing? Why're we up here?" But then a strong gust swept the roof and knocked her off balance. She was about to face plant into the paving when Kurt caught her arm and pulled her back to a standing position.

He motioned over to where the large chimney blocked some of the wind. "Let's go over zere. Zere's somsink I vant to tell you." They sat down with their backs against the warm brick. It felt good to have the wind whipping around her, especially with the chimney's warmth radiating through her. Kurt turned his head to look at her as he said, "Zalia?"

"Yes?" She answered, turning to lock gazes.

"Do you remember zat time ven Professor Logan came to get you out of zat lab?"

"Well I wasn't awake for most of it, but I do remember bits and pieces."

"Do you know vhy he vas zere in ze virst place?"

"No, and I never really asked him. Do you know?"

He nodded. "He vent zere to vind out more about me." He told her about Rogue's dreams, how he had been experimented on just like her, and about Mystique being his mother.

She was wide eyed when he finished. "So you're just like me. We're both messed up."

"Yes. But zere's somesink else too. When we virst got you out of ze ice, you vere anemic. Your healing povers veren't vorking right, so Storm and Professor had to vind someone to give you blood. Zey picked me because I vas ze best match."

Thalia was growing uneasy. What was Kurt getting at? The boy turned towards her and looked her straight in the eyes. "I vas the best match because I'm your brozer."

**I may be slower updating in the future because school is starting TOMORROW and I graduate college in the spring so I have to write my senior thesis and stuff. Please Review! **

**Also, if you have any cool power ideas for Thalia, post them and I'll see if I can include them. They can be anything from reading 100 pages in a second to stretching like rubber.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Sadly, I don't own anything besides Thalia.**

The reaction was instantaneous. She tackled him in a massive hug, and accidentally knocked them both off the center of the roof and down the side. The moment they actually fell off, Thalia's shoulders sprouted wings and took to the air. She still had her arms firmly around Kurt, and he put his feet on top of hers. It was almost like they were dancing in midair. Thalia had never been happier in her entire life.

Charles watched their joy-filled flight from his large study windows. It was good that Kurt had told her. It had obviously helped Thalia to break out of her depression, and perhaps even given her the confidence boost she needed to harness her powers. Those wings had certainly grown fast. He tore his eyes away from the spectacle and started to concentrate on the task at hand. He would need to develop a new schedule for Thalia.

The girl certainly couldn't go back to the school, not after the incident with the music room. He supposed he could have the staff he had at the institute tutor her, and could supplement it with online courses. That was the easy part. But how was he going to train her in the use of her abilities, now that she knew how to control them better?

He finally decided that she would best learn from doing. Thalia ended up going through three times the amount of simulated battles that the other students did. And when he ran out of ideas, he let the students come up with the scenarios.

Kurt was the best at this. Since their flight together, there was nothing separate between them. In fact, they spent so much time together that people, namely Kitty and Evan, teased the two so much about being 'more than friends' that in the end, Kurt and Thalia just came out and told them they were siblings. Because of their closeness, Kurt was always the first one to know when Thalia had discovered a new ability. And he was the first to come up with a battle plan that could test it out.

For example, when Thalia discovered that she could turn on a hawk's vision, Kurt had all the X-men hide in the automatic compartments. The only openings were the minute cracks where the walls and ceiling connected. He then suspended Thalia fifteen feet above the boxes and had her pick out which container a particular mutant was hiding in. She had to pick them out by looking in the atomic-sized cracks, rescue them, and get them to the door before time ran out. She got it right after the fifth try.

Thalia was having a fantastic time. Sure, she wasn't let off of the grounds, but she didn't want to go. Here, she was safe, with people who cared about her and didn't care about how different she was from them. She hoped someday that she would gain enough control over her abilities to get out of the institute and go on mission with the others. She did get her wish eventually, but not the way she hoped.

**Thanks to the reviews I got, I will continue on with this story. I will probably have to limit it to one update per week, but will try to make it worth the wait. Thanks Again, and don't forget to give me any new power ideas you come up with.**


	15. Chapter 15

It happened after a particularly draining training session. Thalia had been strengthening her wings by flying through hoops, laser nets, and avoiding tentacles while carrying Logan, the heaviest of everyone at the institute. She'd also had to do it in the complete dark to work on her night vision, reflexes, hearing, and agility. And while she'd been swooping and diving, there had been targets the size of dimes she had to hit using optic beams, spikes, and electric charges, depending on what color they were. Red for blasting, green for skewering, and what else but bright blue for electrocuting.

She'd executed the exercise well enough, but had gone outside the time limit and missed two of the sixteen targets. But those delicate flight maneuvers, the heavy load, and nanosecond decision making had taxed her inner self's control and torn some of her shoulder muscles. Both together meant she needed time to let her mind rejuvenate before she could concentrate on healing. This was how she ended up out of commission when Charles went with Scott to meet this Alex guy.

Kurt came in and told her that he and some other Institute kids were going to a beach nearby, so not to worry if they didn't show up for dinner. "Ve'll probably be back by zen, but iv ve're not, do you zink you can cover vor us?"

She smiled mischievously. "I don't know what you're talking about. I thought you were doing some heavy duty rock climbing down by the waterfall."

He gave her a light hug so as not to jar her mending muscles. "You're ze best, zis. Zee ya in a vile. I'll bring you a schell!" And he side stepped out the door.

Thalia leaned back into her pillows. For once, she actually wished she had more powers than this. If her wings had been just a little stronger, she wouldn't be covering for her brother. She'd be going with him. She smiled. The idea of dunking him in the sea was very appealing. Oh well, there'd always be next time. She shifted onto her side and started to fall asleep.

* * *

Magneto stepped out of the iron ball in front of the mansion, the last of the ones he'd sent out that morning for "The Gathering". Soon he would go and deal with Scott and his brother. But there was something he needed to collect first. He extended his magnetic sensory field. After being amplified, and after much practice, he'd found that he could detect changes in the magnetic field of a certain area. He now extended that area outward as he walked towards the mansion and through its doors.

The house was almost empty, just as Pietro had said it would be. There were only three signatures in the area. One was heavily disrupting the field with residual lightening, so it was probably Storm. A number of signatures were just exiting the premises, but his son had said the girl was never allowed to leave the grounds. That left only one, in the direction of the infirmary. That was 1.2.

He found her sleeping. She looked so peaceful in her sleep. It didn't suit her at all. She was meant to be a tested warrior, someone who would lead their race after he was gone. She did not need to be coddled by a soft bed and soft-minded people. So he gently lifted her with magnetism and carried her through the mansion and into the metal orb.

Once he had punched in the coordinates for Sanctuary, Magneto turned back to his creation. He concentrated his abilities on her mind, disrupting the changes in electrical charge along her nerve cells. This disrupted her brain activity just enough to keep her from waking too soon. He didn't want to damage the future queen, after all.

Yes, she would be the leader, not that other brat he'd used. The boy had shown no promise when first… changed. That early activation of his mutant gene had just shown up as physical mutations and a paltry gift of teleportation. 1.2, on the other hand, had had her mother's morphing abilities as well as her brother's physical mutations and dimensional gifts. That made her much more valuable to him. So when Mystique had come for the twins, he'd let her think that 1.2 had died as a result of an experiment, and that the boy was the only one left. Him, Magneto could afford to lose.

And now her training was complete. Charles had taught her how to handle her abilities, and once Magneto forced her through the machine, she would be even more powerful and completely malleable to his will. With a little more training after that, she would be well on her way to taking her place at his side. However, it had been regrettable that he'd had to leave the training to Charles, but you didn't build a secret base in a few days. The Institute had been a hiding place while he prepared her palace. He just hoped living with those naïve children hadn't stained her too badly. If that were the case, he would have words for Charles


	16. Chapter 16

Professor Xavier knew this wasn't good the moment the Blackbird started flying itself. But he hadn't known just how bad it was until this moment. Jean, Rogue, Storm, all unconscious, abducted by Magnus. And when he heard that his other students had also been put to the test, his worry grew. What had happened to Logan, and to Evan and the others? Were they hurt? Dead? And what about Scott? He'd just left him there on that island. Had he even managed to find… Ah, it seemed he did. After all, they were walking side by side.

He was still confused as to why Scot was here, though. "Scott, I… I don't understand."

Scott hurried forward to explain. "Professor, wait! We're just here to listen, that's all."

Obviously, Magneto had been misleading both boys. He turned towards the tubules containing Storm and the others. "What about them? Are they here to listen as well?"

It seemed he was right, Scott didn't understand the situation fully. He became angry at once, turning on the cloaked figure. "Hey! What is this?!"

But Magneto had an explanation for everything. "Simply a precaution, Scott. Not everyone has the maturity to accept the need for change as you do, although there are some who understand." And with this he extended his hand to the side, where a door slid open and…

Thalia stepped out and took the man's hand. Charles was sent reeling. How had she gotten here? Did Magneto kidnap her as well? But the why wasn't she in a tubule like the others? Had she switched sides? Charles took a closer look at her eyes, trying to detect confusion, sadness or, heaven forbid, distain for him. But there was instead a sort of gloss over her eyes, like she was half asleep. Now that he'd seen the first indication, Charles noticed other things. She wasn't very lively, almost limp. It was as if she was in some sort of trance. He sent a probe into her mind, and came up against a wall of some sort. But it was not a tactic he'd taught her, there was too much interference. This sort of wall could stop half her… Of course! That had to be what was going on! Magneto had blocked some of her brain functions by throwing off the magnetic balance. He'd left her a sufficient amount for her to appear normal, but not enough for conscious thought. But probing in her mind took a great deal of concentration, so he missed all of what Magneto said next.

"She is the most powerful of our race, and will soon guide it as I have. The preparations for her ascent began from the day she came into my custody fourteen years ago. I have given her every power possible so she can understand each new mutant and help them master their power and she did before them. She will be your teacher and your leader. But she's not yet complete." Charles finished his scan at that moment. Before he could ask Magneto what he had done with Thalia, Magneto opened the circular hatch in the wall and guided the comatose girl inside before shutting it behind her.

"This is a genetic enhancer I built right into the asteroid. It allows a person to fully awaken their powers and control them easily. When she emerges, 1.2 will be a fully realized leader and teacher for the future generations. In short, she will take our places, Charles." He walked up and clasped his hand on the other man's shoulder. "I must thank you for keeping my masterpiece safe while I prepared this place for her, Charles. And you taught her the beginnings of control as well. Now witness the fruit of your efforts."

The portal opened again, emitting a white light that gently silhouetted the girl. At first glance, you couldn't tell that there was anything different about her. Then Charles felt Magneto drop the barrier inside her mind. As her eyes became expressive again, the change became clear. This wasn't Thalia.

Magneto stepped toward the small figure. "Welcome home, my dear. I trust you are ready to begin initiating your fellow mutants?" He waved his hand at Scott and Alex.

Scott had been confused from the first moment Thalia entered the room. But what she did next truly stunned him. She picked up Magneto and threw him across the room. "You think that just because you gave me a little power, you have the right to command me?" She started whipping him across the floor like a rag doll. "You pumped me into this girl, left me too weak to even appear in her mind, and then abandoned us for dead when you heard the Wolverine was coming. Then just when we had started to get stronger, you kidnapped us and forced us into that machine before she was ready to handle me!"

Magneto's lackeys cowered in one of the corners while she slammed their master into the ground so hard he made a dent in the floor. "YOU ADVANCED US BEFORE WE WERE READY AND NOW OUR WHOLE BODY IS SCREAMING! I'LL KILL YOU!"

"That's enough!" Thalia turned towards the shout. Charles continued. "We need him alive for questioning. For now, you can help us get these three out." He gestured towards the capsules. It took a little while to figure out the controls, but they soon had all three free. The asteroid had started to fall apart, Thalia, or whoever she was now, carried her unconscious teammates to the blackbird with the Brotherhood members reluctantly following.

They didn't want to ride home with this new crazy girl, but what choice did they have? There was no other way off the crumbling rock except the metal spheres, and Magneto couldn't operate those, knocked out as he was. The Professor sent a telepathic message to everyone who hadn't made it to Sanctuary, telling them to get back to the mansion as soon as possible. In fact, Logan had just been on his way to come and get them. Then he leaned back in his pilot's chair after turning on the autopilot. He was going to have to deal with the changes to Thalia when they got back to the Institute. He was not looking forward to that.

**Remember to review, please. I like to know what works and what doesn't so I can add in the good stuff more and make it a better story. Sorry to add on such a cliffhanger, but hopefully I'll get more interest this way.**


	17. Chapter 17

The flight back to the mansion was a tense one. An awakened storm was helping Charles pilot while Jean kept an eye on the Brotherhood boys. But they didn't dare try anything with Magneto knocked out and Not-Thalia watching them, eyes narrowed until they were little more than slits in her face. But she kept her powers in check, if only to avoid destroying the jet.

As soon as they touched down inside the hanger, Charles turned to Storm and said in a low tone, "I want you to take Magneto to the infirmary. Hook him up to a sedative. I need to talk with him, but Thalia comes first right now."

He wheeled around to find Not-Thalia already lifting him up. She handed him to Storm and followed Charles out the hanger door. He said over his shoulder to Scott, "Why don't you take the other boys home? They can wait there until we've decided on what to do with Magneto." Scott agreed and began to herd the boys out after the professor and upstairs. Storm followed and then left for the infirmary. Charles and Not-Thalia continued upwards, to where his study was waiting. He wheeled behind his desk and gestured for the girl to bring one of the chairs closer and sit down in front of him.

She smirked a little. _He thinks I'm dangerous. Good for him. At least these guys won't underestimate me like Metal Moron did._ She grabbed a chair and pulled it reasonably close to the desk.

He put his elbows on the desk and leaned his chin on his knuckles. "So, who are you right now?"

Her smirk widened. _I'll bet he's already got it halfway figured out. _"Remember the little girl Thalia told you about? The one who controlled her powers?" She spread her arms wide. "Well Metal Moron's little room let me get stronger, strong enough to come out without asking permission. But that's the only good thing it did."

The telepath leaned in closer. "What else did it do?"

"It magnified all our abilities to the point where we can't turn them off without considerable willpower. Thalia's able to keep it to a minimum from the inside, like I did before, but it still feels like my body is tearing itself apart."

"Why would it do that?"

She scoffed. "And you're supposed to be smart? Think about it. I've got powers that are complete opposites. Fire and Ice. Up and Down. Phasing and Solidifying. And right now, they're all fighting inside me for dominance. When I said my body was screaming, I wasn't kidding." She leaned back a little. "It's all she can do to keep those powers from destroying this room. I'm surprised she can manage even that."

"She?"

"Thalia. That room forced us to switch places. We would have learned how eventually, for combat, but this was too soon."

The professor held up a hand. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you mean. 'We', 'switch'? You talk about Thalia as if she's totally separate from you, not just another side of your personality."

The smirk came off her face and she leaned towards the professor. "Well I am, and I'm not. I'm the personality Thalia developed to handle the powers that got pumped into her. I'm the one who kept her powers from raging out of control, and she put up with living. Now our roles are switched, and we don't know how to do the other person's job. And it's causing a lot of pain and confusion."

Ah, now he understood. This was grave indeed. "Can we help?"

"Just get me a dark room away from people. Hopefully I can concentrate and talking with her, not anyone else. If I could just communicate with her…"

"I've got the perfect place." He took her into her old room and showed her the closet, the same one she'd cried in after the Music Room Incident "This is where she first found you, correct?" Not-Thalia nodded. "Then this is probably the best place for you to try and talk to her. But before you go in, do you have a name?"

"1.2. And I'll keep it."

**This is my first time writing a split personality, but it was a good way to keep the story moving. I'll be helping 1.2 adapt to her new roll, and letting Thalia grow into hers. Who knows, I might even let then switch again some time. REVIEW!**


	18. Chapter 18

1.2 loved the closet. It was dark, quiet, and lacking of distractions. Just like where she'd previously been inside their mind. Now, how was she going to get back there? The first time Thalia had really spoken to her, not just pushed her around, she'd been sleeping. 1.2 sighed. _Guess it's worth a shot. _She relaxed her body and put the powers temporarily under her control on autopilot. She curled into a fetal position on the floor, closed her eyes, and took rhythmic breaths that lulled her into sleep.

Then she was back in that room, that horrible room that had taken her out of the mind and thrust her into the real world. The moron would pay for that, oh yes. But he'd have to wait until after she figured out how to get things back to the way they were. Then there would be a debt of pain to cash in on.

The hatch at the other end opened up and Thalia stepped in. She looked exactly like 1.2, but for some distinct differences. 1.2 had her hair in a shorter cut, almost army standard. Thalia's was schoolgirl long. _Why does that not surprise me? Of course she'd be what everyone expected from someone like us._

Thalia touched the walls. "So this is your greatest pain."

1.2 scoffed at her. "What're you talking about?"

She looked back at her tougher counterpart. "When I first saw you, it was in the lab, my worst memory. If I'm meeting you here when you're in control of us, then this must be your worst memory. Have to say I agree." She took her hand off the wall and walked closer until they were practically touching noses. "Why did you try to call me?"

1.2 stammered. "C-called you?"

"Yes. Having trouble with the outside world? It gets better the longer you stay, you know. And the others aren't so bad once you get to know them."

1.2 put aside her temporary shock at Thalia's calm demeanor. There were other things they had to talk about, like their switched positions. "Are you keeping our powers in check?"

Thalia shrugged. "It's hard, but I'll adapt. After all, you managed it." She gave the other girl a look of grudging respect. "How're you doing with everyone out there?"

She shrugged, in much the same way as her counterpart. "As long as they don't ask me to get all touchy-feely on them, it's okay. It's a good thing none of them underestimate me." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I have you to thank for that, I guess. But give me some pointers on dealing with the professor. How do I keep him out of my head? He was trying to probe me while I was talking to him and I didn't like it."

Thalia gave her a quick lesson on blocking intrusions, and asked for help controlling their abilities from the inside. "How will I know when you want to use one on the outside? I can't let it loose in here otherwise."

"That's easy. When you were outside, I'd just suddenly get the feeling that I wanted to fly or zap something. I'd do it, and that would let you do it on the outside. You've been doing pretty well so far, but you need to concentrate more on the contrary powers. They're causing a lot of pain even if they're not destroying anything."

Thalia sucked her breath in through her teeth. "How bad is it?" 1.2 gave her a funny look, like she was asking _how could you not know this? _"I'm not connected to the body here, I think. I couldn't really see or touch anything until you brought me in here. It's just… dark. Nothing else."

1.2 grinned a little. "You'll get used to it in a while. It's not that bad. There's no distractions, nothing unpleasant to deal with, just you and the power. It's actually pretty exhilarating."

"But we should come up with a way of switching that doesn't involve ramping up our powers again. Do you think you could work with the professor on that?"

1.2 nodded. It would be good to find a way, and she'd already had the idea in her mind. "I'll ask him about it, but I make no promises." She woke up and headed back to his office, hoping to get started on the reversal project.

**Sorry for the late update, a teensy thing called College interrupted me. I have a new crossover for FMA and Ironman started if you wish to check it out. **

**Review Please!**


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